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The bus dropped them off shortly before lunch. They
had both feared the school might force them to stay
on the premises. Schools, Michael felt, displayed an
unhealthy obsession over the whereabouts of their students.
It really wasn't necessary.
Then a happy rumor began to spread; the headmaster
had received a warning that the chances of restoring
power and heat were slim. Sure enough, shortly after
11:30 there was an announcement that they could all
leave. It was only one day of liberty but every little
helped. The greatest pleasures are those that come unbidden.
Lea's parents were away for the day and her sister
was at university, so they had the house to themselves
with five clear hours to search for the ring.
First Lea showed him the hiding place. Carefully they
removed the drawer and she emptied it while he watched,
and then they took out all the other drawers and checked
that the ring had not somehow fallen down the back.
Lea was skeptical about the endeavor but Michael's
determination prevailed. He stood on a chair and saw
the key, and then she unlocked her jewelry box and showed
him where she had hidden the ring. Together they emptied
the box and checked every pocket, every pouch, every
corner.
Michael was amazed. He had never seen inside a jewelry
box, never know what it was like. He assumed Lea had
a ring or two, earrings, a bracelet and perhaps a necklace,
though now that he came to think about it, he could
not recall an occasion when she had worn one.
He thought the box would be almost empty. Instead,
he found it packed to the top. There were necklaces
with red gems and pink, green gems, blue gems, clear
gems. There were matching bracelets. There were strange
things with clips that Lea told him she attached to
shoes. There were ankle bands, chokers, pins, broaches,
and too many rings to count.
Michael peered cautiously into the depths of the box.
"Any doubloons in there?" he enquired, optimistically.
"If you don't want to help, go home!" she
snapped, without any real malice. "Now help me
empty all this."
They did but the ring was not there. Then they sat
on the bed and Lea tried to remember the exact sequence
of events, from sneaking into her mother's room on the
Friday evening when she first borrowed the ring, all
the way to returning from the party the night before
the ballet and finally hiding it back in the jewelry
box. She had hoped to return it to its proper place
right away, but no opportunity had presented itself.
Her mother had been sick for a couple of days, and she
had spent a lot of time in the bedroom.
Lea and Michael labored for four hours and found nothing.
"Are you sure you brought it back?"
"Yes!" she insisted.
"Could you have taken it off in a bathroom when
you washed your hands?"
She hesitated, and suddenly reminded him of a politician
on television trying to decide whether to risk a blatant
lie. Maybe she had taken if off at the party or maybe
at home, but it was obvious that here he had stumbled
across a germ of truth.
"No!" she insisted. "I never took it
off. Not for a moment. I brought it back safely to the
room and I hid it. I know I did."
"I believe you," he said, tactfully. "I'm
just trying to think this thing through."
"I know." She sighed. "Thank you for
trying to help. Shall we take a break?"
"What do you mean?"
"Want to take a girl for a walk in the park?"
Perhaps a break would do them both good.
"How about dinner first? I know a pub that has
good food."
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